Minister of Natural Resources Hyde also discussed Mike Feinstein's appeal of the decision which found that government's compulsory acquisition of Stake Bank was legal.
Feinstein's attorney Godfrey Smith maintains that it was not - and so even though the land has been transferred to the new private owners - Minister Hyde said that, still, any number can play:
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"Well it's on appeal and you have the litigious risk. I mean anything can happen, you'll never know. And that is why we go to court, that's why people go to court because you hope for a good response. We are pleased that we got the result we got in the high court, but you don't ever know what's going to happen at the court of appeal. We just have to kind of wait and see in the process but we are moving forward."
"The state's intention from the beginning was that we were going to compulsory acquire this for public purpose, that public purpose being to vest it in this company so that they can complete the project, the public benefit being that all the jobs that will be created. In this developmental stage all the jobs that will be created post construction, the boom to the economy, the uplift with the tourism product because the truth is without a side along or whatever they call it cruise port you have a problem with cruise ships coming. Like there has been drops in the cruise tourists coming to Belize because of that and so if that project can be completed then that would be a benefit to the tourism product and can be a benefit to the country on a whole and that's the rationale that we used and we will see how it goes."
"In practice they paid for the land but in practice there is a court case trying to determine whether the land belongs to Stake Bank or whether the land belongs to the other principal. That case will decide a lot. If it is decided that it is for Stake Bank then it all falls away, if it is decided it is for Feinstein and personally then the government will have to compensate them and then that is when the guarantee kicks in right because ultimately the guarantee is that it will not come at any cost to the people of Belize. So ultimately once a compensation has to be paid then they will pay it."
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